Nico Rosberg said tenth place in the Japanese Grand Prix was only a "decent result" despite starting 23rd on the grid.

A hydraulics problem prevented Rosberg from setting a time during qualifying and led to his poor starting position. It did, however, leave him with a number of fresh tyres for a race that was high on tyre wear. That allowed Rosberg to go for an aggressive strategy and pick his way back through in to the points, but he said the result was still at the lower end of his target.

"I'm pleased to score a point today and had fun out there with a few nice overtaking manoeuvres," Rosberg said. "This is definitely one of the toughest tracks for overtaking so starting from the back of the grid meant that I had a pretty tough job. Before the race, I hoped to achieve between eighth and 10th places and, whilst it would have been nice to be a bit higher, it's still a decent result.

Rosberg praised his team for helping with the result, but was looking ahead to a "more normal weekend" next week in Korea.

"Thanks to the team for a good strategy and great pit stops today. After this complicated weekend, I hope to have a more normal weekend in Korea and fight in our usual position. And finally, Sebastian, congratulations: you deserve the title."